ABOUT ME

I'm trying not to lose my marbles. I am aware that I have already mislaid some of them ... one is stuck under the sofa, one in the Lego box and the 10 year old may have inadvertently swallowed the other

We live in West Yorkshire and are a family of five; Me, The Husband, The 11 Year Old, The 10 Year old and 20 Year Old. We also have two dogs, Jessie the chocolate Labrador and Cleo the spanish rescue Podenco.

Me - I'm Laura, I work as a Social Media Manager for a large brand. I consider myself an expert on gin, cake and moustaches ... in that order.

The Husband is a designer. We've been together for 15 years . He spends most of his time wishing I was more interested in housework, looked like Andrea Corr and didn't talk in my sleep. He loves football, rugby and cricket, his family and cooking which is fortunate as I don't ... the cooking bit that is.

The 11 year old has the memory of an elephant. She loves school, reading, music and wants to be a vet when she's older. She is always surprising me with her kindness and her ability to say embarrassing things really loudly in public.

The 10 year old only has two speeds, VERY fast and asleep. If you can leap off it, roll under it, ride it or break it, he will. He NEVER stops eating. If he's grumpy it's because he is either hungry or tired. According to the scan he was supposed to be a girl, so imagine our surprise when he popped out on The Husband's birthday, a boy.

The 20 year old is my stepdaughter and came to live with us permanently a few years ago.

You can find me on Facebook here, Instagram here and Twitter here or just email me at laurachora@gmail.com

Cleopatra the Podenco

When Peanut died last year she left a big hole in our lives, albeit a less smelly one, and I’ve wanted a second dog ever since. I knew I didn’t want a puppy again – having a puppy is like having a newborn; lack of sleep, carpet stains, repeating yourself over and OVER and I felt strongly about rescuing a dog. I kept my eye on several websites in the hope that I’d see ‘the one’ … and three long months later I did. She popped up on the local vet page on Facebook, via a lady in our village, who we now affectionately refer to as ‘The Dog Fixer’.

Cleo popped up on The Asociacion de Animales de Berja’s Facebook page. A charity, they rescue stray dogs in Spain, foster them in local homes and once a month do a run over to the UK to re-home the lucky ones. We paid the charity £150 which included vaccinations, neutering, travel costs and really is nothing when you think about what goes into rescuing a dog, the vet bills and bringing her from Spain.

Cleo was found with five pups on some wasteland. She stayed with C&J, a lovely couple, who foster dogs alongside their family pets. They gave her such a loving home and kept us updated regularly on how she was getting on which really helped us to bond with a dog we’d never met.

She’s been here just over a week and has slotted into our family without any problems. We had never heard of the Podenco breed before but she’s such a gentle soul who runs like a whippet and has the BEST bat ears. She was quite timid to start with but over the last week has come out of her shell. She’s not a fan of baths, loves walks, chasing squirrels and trying to infiltrate the sofa. The rest of the time she likes her sleep – the 11 year old thinks it’s because she’s Spanish and used to having siestas. She can be quite aloof in a mañana, mañana fashion and we have had to wake her to feed her and let her out a few times.

If you are considering getting a dog please think about a rescue dog. There are so many dogs out there who just need the right family.

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4 Comments

Hello there – We are also fostering / adopting a pup from this charity . Cleos pup in fact! Kiki is coming to us at the end of January ! It is nice to hear your story . How is she getting on now she has been with you for a few months? Jeanette x